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5v 

J The Boise Fokte Indian Reservation in Minnesota. 



By Albert B. Reagan. 



The Boisic) ForWc) t'l!ii)i)0\va ludiiins iivi' in iKHilicni Miiiuesotii 
on a roservatifiii of llie same namt- snrrnuiidm.i; tlif beautiful Nett Lake. 
The rescrvatidu (()\ei's (lue wimlf Inwnshi)) and eight fractional townships. 
Its eastern i)art is in St. liouis County, the hulk <if it in Koochiching 
County. It coniains a total of 10o,SG2.7:! acres, exclusive of the area of 
tlie lake. Of this area, 55,040.4.3 acres are allotted to 0!):j Indians, 48,210.- 
.'!0 acres reniaiu unallotted, and 4.j4.04 is reserved for agency and school 
purposes. Of IIk' 4S,21(^oO acres unallotted much of it has been reserved 
liy the <Jo\enun(-nt as pine lands and from time to time the timber on 
IKirts of the said lands has been sold under sealed bids, the closing out 
sale v:)ccurring September 35, this year. In all the timber on 9,5.33.70 
acres has been sold. 3,233.77 being sold September 15, 0,299.93 having 
been sold previously. The other unallotted lands will be subject to settle- 
ment as homestead lauds in the near future. There will also be something 
like .">0,0()0 acres of Inherited Indian lands to be sold within the next 
I wo years. 

Nett Lake is in the east central ]iart of the reservation. It is more 
than half a townshi[) in area. It is in the shape of a giant lobster's 
iiaud \\itii the cl.iws pointing eastward, the large claw being the north 
digit. The lake is shallow and has a mud buttom. It is a rice field and 
a duck pond combined. In summer, it looks like a vast wheat field. In 
the fall it swarms with ducks and consequently is a sporting center for 
the hunters of all this northern country. 

The lands included in the reservation are well timbered. The princi- 
lial species represented are white and N(U'way pine, spruce, cedar, elm, 
Cottonwood, oak, birch, and poplar. The latter two are the most abundant 
and will be of value some day as pulp wood. 

The land of the reservation is very variable in condition of soil and 
jiossible fertility. f)ne-lin]f of it is swamp and is known to the Indians 
as "Muskeg" lands. Over this area there is a stratum of peat from six 
inehps to five feef ii) thicknesjs. ^Yhon once drained this wil} be the Uefjt 



122 

liiiid in tlj«" countfy. The ii(iii-s\v;iiiip cnstcni p.ii't of flie rosorvjitioii is 
composed of i"ock-rid,s?cs flanked witli lower land. These lower stretches 
are clay flats covered with black loam. On them ujrow birch and poplar 
forests; and when cleared they will make flnc farms of the dairy type. 
Roots and grass do well on snch lands. The ridge lands are the pine lands 
and will not be of much value, except for building sites and orchard loca- 
tions. 

The western part of the reservation that is not covered with "mus- 
keg" swamp is a sand region. On it grew much pine in the old times : 
but when cleared it will be practically worthless, as is some pine lauds 
east (if the south lobe of the lake. 

The region about Little Fork Kiver is in the southwestern part of the 
reservation. It will make good farm land when cleared. Some open areas 
are fine meadows now. 

The surface material, except that on the ridges, was left on the re- 
treat of the glaciers. Its depth varies from nothing on the ridges to 200 
feet in the pre-glacial intervalley spaces. The irregular dunijiing of tliis 
material and the partial filling of ancient valleys has produced the lakes 
of the covmtry. In composition, this material varies very much. In the 
eastern part of the reservation it is composed iirincipally of ground mo- 
raine material — a blue clay filled witli boulders. Some of these ai'e found 
to be of local origin; others to have been transported from a region far to 
the north. At other places on the reservation, the l"orination appears to 
be practically pure sand. On the rock ridges the glacial debris is entirely 
wanting, but instead the exposed I'ocks show the glacial scratchings. 

The climate is very ch;mgeable in this part, ranging from 102 degrees 
above zero in summer to (>0 degrees below in winter. The average summer 
is too cool for corn, and wheat has never been tried. Oats does fairly 
well. 

The Indians have been allotted nearly twenty years; yet not one of 
them has ever made any effort to improve his allotment. As yet there is 
little inducement for them to improve them. There is no market where 
they could sell their jiroduee. Furthermore it would cost .$100 per acre 
to ck'ar the lan<l, which is ratlier a liig undertaking for a poverty-stricken 
Indian. In jiddilion, th<'re is ri<-e gi'owing in the lake and plenty of game 
in the woods and wati'i- fowl aiiemg trie rico in tlie lakt;. Why should l|e 
labor to clpar his laijdV 



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123 



lU'luW is ii Siu'f.Mcc liliii) of the iost.'1-vjitioii, sliowiiii; tlic foniiMtioiis 
as they ocevif. (The oi'ij,'iu;il country rock is not sliowis.) 



. Kot-ilv 




MAP OF THE BOIS FOIIT INDIAN RESERVATION IN MINNESOTA. 

The dotted areas are swamp, or "Muskeg." to use the Indian term. "R" stands 
fur rock ridge. The other kinds of laud are designated on the map. Any one exam- 
ining this map could not blame the Indians for petitioning the Honoralde Commis- 
sioner to have lien lands allotted to them for their swampy allotments. 



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